Carol Gray Kennedy

“What should I do?”, people sometimes ask me. This is a common response to feeling stuck. The inclination to find what needs to be done is natural,…but what if there isn’t anything to do,..what if you can only be with a situation.

This brings us up against our existential helplessness,..which isn’t comfortable. However, if you can surrender to what is and watch the world unfold in its own natural way,…it can be a relief to let go.

Initially, letting go is scary. It means we don’t have control and we’ve surrendered the notion that we do. It means that others, the economy, the jobplace, the street congestion, and all those other annoyances are on their own,…they are going to have to find level ground (or not) without our assistance.

While I say this tongue in cheek, it is a struggle I am respectful of. We enter the world so utterly helpless and have to depend for months and years on caregivers to help us on our way toward adulthood. Next thing we know, we’re dependent upon a larger world for our food, energy, jobs, finances,..and the list goes on. We are brought face to face with our dependency on the “whole”.

Letting go doesn’t feel particularly safe at times, but it can lead to inner peace. Accepting things as they are ~whether you understand them or not ~ whether you like them or not ~ can open us up to a deep sense of well being and connection with all that is. In knowing we can let go of the reins and surrender, we can become part of the flow of allowing things to be okay,…just as they are.

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Birds have been singing me awake for about a month now. It’s delightful! I know when I go away for winter breaks, it’s the bird songs I notice first. I don’t realize how much I miss them until they come back and amaze me again!

There’s something to be said for the sounds we interpret as happiness,…or sounds that inspire happiness in us. How consciously do we introduce those sounds to our daily lives?

I noticed yesterday that I was feeling draggy, and when I got in my car and the music came on, I couldn’t feel slowed down anymore. It was an amazing transformation for me! It even lasted after I got out of the car!

Try paying attention to what sounds delight you, and if you can, bring that into your life more! Sometimes we have to settle for a recording of them, but many are available in our daily routine. We just have to notice.

Yesterday, I walked through a store that sold “nature sound” alarm clocks,…it was going through the selections of thunder, water, birds, rain,….and although it was pretty nice to hear in a poorly lit  store,…there’s nothing like the real thing.

Taking time to be in nature is a great mindfulness exercise and can bring us to our center. Now is a great time of year to awaken all the senses and really soak in the sensuousness of growth and aliveness around us.  Have fun and listen to what surrounds you!